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Asheville's mountain music mix: Folk duos, swing & more

Emily Frantz (fiddle/vocals) and Andrew Marlin (mandolin/vocals) are Mandolin Orange, with lovely harmonies, strong songwriting and a disarming presence. Believably covering folk songs like Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” or an original like “Hey Stranger” from their newest CD “Blindfaller,” they’ve captured national attention with a lovely feel reminiscent of Emmy Lou Harris and Graham Parsons or Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The laid-back North Carolina duo maintains a kind of post-collegiate freshness but bust loose with astonishing skill. Backed by a full band on tour, their Orange Peel appearance follows years of hard travelling. Since forming in 2009 near Chapel Hill, they’ve performed at the Austin City Limits Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, toured with Elephant Revival and Trampled with Turtles, crisscrossing the country with sell-out shows in San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City and more. There’s magic at work when they sing together, they capture you with intimate Southern Americana in a lovely blend of classic folk, bluegrass, country, gospel and contemporary singer songwriter. Dead Horses opens.

Watching two old friends like David Holt and Josh Goforth play is a moment in time, with joking, camaraderie, playful challenges and an intimate musical tightness that goes along with their level of skill and musical abilities. And congratulations are in order, on Thursday, David Holt was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Josh grew up in Madison County, related to many of the old folks David learned from in the ‘60s folk revival. At first an inspiration and mentor, now David inspires Josh to have a great time with him on stage when they can, knock down Appalachian and original music on fiddle, banjo, guitar, slide guitar, mandolin and all kinds of folk rhythm instruments.

Willie Watson and Aoife O'Donovan each play a set in this interesting doubleheader. Watson grew to fame as the distinctively voiced lead singer in the band Old Crowe Medicine Show but left to follow a solo path, reconnecting with American folk and roots music. Recently he teamed up with friends Gillian Welch and David Rawlings in the David Rawlings Machine, headlining MerleFest and other mega events nationally. Rawlings produced his 10 song CD “Willie Watson, Folk Singer Vol. 1.” After Aoife O'Donovan (pronounced "ee-fuh") graduated from the New England Conservatory, she toured as the lead singer and principal songwriter of Crooked Still, an internationally acclaimed progressive string group. The startling range and clear, Celtic quality of her voice attracted international attention and she went on to collaborate and record with names like Alison Krauss, Chris Thile, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan. She recently completed and released the solo recording “In the Magic Hour” and her set includes covers of classic Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris.